A World of Color
No matter where you go, colors are everywhere! And while the colors may be the same, their meanings change depending on the country.

Colors		Different Meanings
Green		Green means “hope” in Ecuador. In the U.S., it’s a symbol of money and concern for the environment.
Purple		Purple is worn by kings and queens in Europe, while in Thailand, it’s worn by women whose husbands have died.
	Black		Black is the traditional color of mourning(哀悼) in the West. But on the Pacific islands of Melanesia, it’s a symbol of beauty and speed.
	White		White is considered a pure color and is worn at weddings in America. In parts of Asia, however, white is worn to funerals(葬禮) as a sign of winter, when everything is dead.
	Red		Red means “beautiful” in Russia, but in South Africa, it’s the color of mourning. In the United States, a bride would be criticized(批評) for wearing a red gown. In India or China, though, brides often wear red as a symbol of good fortune.

Colors mean different things in different countries. No matter what the meaning is, color adds interest to our lives and makes them brighter.
小題1:In the US if you prefer the color_____, it will probably show that you are concerned about the environment.  

A．green

B．purple

C．black

D．white

小題2:How many colors mentioned in the passage can be used as a sign of mourning?

A．Five.

B．Four.

C．Three.

D．Two.

小題3:If a bride is wearing a red gown in the wedding, she must come from_____.

A．Thailand

B．America

C．India

D．South Africa

小題4:Which is true according to the passage?

A．White stands for purity in China.

B．An American bride will wear a red gown on the wedding.

C．Black is a symbol of beauty and speed in the west.

D．Purple is worn by kings and queens in Europe

小題5:What can we infer from the passage?

A．All the colors have different meanings in different countries.

B．From country to country, people view colors differently.

C．All the brides from China prefer to wear white gowns.

D．White is considered a pure color and often worn to funerals.

More than a century ago, the composer and bandleader John Philip Sousa warned that technology would destroy music, who said, “These talking machines are going to ruin the artistic development of music in this country. When I was a boy … in front of every house in the summer evenings you would find young people together singing the songs of the day or the old songs. Today you hear these terrible machines going night and day. We will not have a vocal cord (聲帶) left.”
Music has greatly changed in the past hundred years, which has been everywhere in our world: rivers of digital melody flow on the Internet or on disc; MP3 players with forty thousand songs can be put in a back pocket or a purse. Yet, for most of us, music is no longer something we do ourselves, or even watch other people do in front of us. It has become a radically virtual medium, an art without a face.
Ever since Edison invented the phonograph cylinder(留聲機), people have been assessing what the medium of recording has done for and to the art of music. Sousa was a spokesman for the party of doom; in the opposite corner are the utopians(烏托邦), who argue that technology has not imprisoned music but liberated it. Before Edison came along, Beethoven’s symphonies could be heard only in select concert halls. Now the recordings carry the man from Bonn to the corners of the earth. Glenn Gould, after renouncing live performance in 1964, predicted that within the century the public concert would disappear into the electronic air.
Having discovered much of my favorite music through LPs and CDs, I am not about to join Sousa’s party. Modern urban environments are often so soulless or ugly that I’m grateful for the humanizing touch of electronic sound. But neither can I accept Gould’s slashing futurism. I want to be aware of technology’s effects, positive and negative. Fortunately, scholars and critics have been methodically exploring this terrain for many decades, trying to figure out exactly what happens when we listen to music with no musicians in the room.
小題1:The first paragraph is intended to        .

A．defend an argument	B．make a prediction
C．criticize an attitude	D．summarized a viewpoint

小題2:The author’s attitude towards the recorded music may best be described as        .

A．dissatisfied

B．defensive

C．optimistic

D．objective

小題3:The underlined word “terrain” in the last paragraph most nearly means       .

A．region

B．subject

C．land

D．distinction

小題4:The primary purpose of the passage is to       .

A．explain different attitudes of scholars and critics

B．defend the view of one group from the criticism of another

C．a(chǎn)dvocate an unexpected solution to a pressing problem

D．present the key issues in an ongoing debate

In English the spelling of words does not always represent the sound. So people say /rait/ but spell it right or write, or even rite. Combinations of letters may be pronounced in many ways. And some words just seem to have too many letters.
　 For Americans things are a little bit easier, thanks to the work of Noah Webster, a teacher who graduated from Yale University in 1778. As a young man, he had fought against the British in the American War of Independence, and he felt that written English in the newly independent United States should have a distinctive American look.
　 So he began his work on American English. His first book, The Elementary Spelling Book, suggested simplifying the spelling of English words. The book was extremely popular. By the 1850s, it was selling one million copies a year, making it one of the most popular school books ever.
　 Many of the suggestions were quickly adopted. Center instead of centre, program instead of programme, and flavor instead of flavour. Others, however, such as removing silent letters like s in island or the final e in examine, were not .
Webster is best known for his American Dictionary of the English language, which first appeared in 1828. It introduced lots of new American words, with information about their pronunciation and use, and, of course, the new spelling. The British criticized the dictionary, but it quickly became a standard reference book in the States. Today, Webster's dictionary is still the number one dictionary for American students.　　
小題1:What is the text mainly about?

A．Webster and his best sellers.

B．British and American English.

C．The history of American English.

D．The man who made spelling simple.

小題2:Which is the right order according to the text?
①Webster graduated from Yale University.
②American Dictionary of the English language came out.
③Webster's book was selling one million copies a year.
④Webster took part in the American War of Independence.

A．②①③④

B．③①②④

C．④①③②

D．①②③④

小題3:What can we learn from the text?
A. All the spelling of words does not represent the sound.
B. The Elementary Spelling Book was published in the 1850s.
C. Webster's suggestions were accepted completely.
小題4:What attitude do the British have towards Webster's dictionary?

A．They thought highly of it.

B．They found fault with it.

C．They argued bitterly about it.

D．They followed the examples of it.

Below are pages adapted  from, http：//sochi2014．com/en/
Sochi Volunteers

小題1:Sochi 2014 Volunteer Training Program was launched on       ．

A．30 May 2013

B．11 March 2013

C．16 December 2013

D．19 September 2013

小題2:“ White Stick"  Music Festival took place in      ．

A．Sochi	B．St． Petersburg
C．the United Kingdom	D．Moscow

小題3:Which of the following statements is true?

A．The 25 ,000 volunteers were from Russia．

B．Winners of Cultural Program Competition weren't known until 19 September 2013．

C．From August,25 to September,8,you were able to enjoy Winter Games in Sochi．

D．Few of the cultural activities were intended for creating atmosphere of Sochi Winter Games．

小題4:From the two boxes, you can learn that the activities were listed according to      ．

A．importance

B．place

C．date

D．name

Hi, everybody. Over the past couple months, most of the political headlines you’ve read have probably been about the government shutdown and the launch of the Affordable Care Act(平價醫(yī)療法案). And I know that many of you have rightly never been more frustrated with Washington.
But if you look beyond those headlines, there are some good things happening in our economy. And that’s been my top priority（優(yōu)先考慮）since the day I walked into the Oval Office.
After decades in which the middle class was working harder and harder just to keep up, and a punishing recession（衰退）that made it worse, we made the tough choices required not just to recover from crisis, but to rebuild on a new foundation for stronger, more durable economic growth.
Five years later, we have fought our way back. Our businesses have created 7.8 million new jobs in the past 44 months. Another 200,000 Americans went back to work last month.
The American auto industry has come back with more than 350,000 new jobs –-- jobs putting out and selling the high-tech, fuel-efficient cars the world wants to buy. And they’re leading the charge in a business that has added jobs for the first time since the 1990s –-- a big reason why our businesses sell more goods and services “Made in America” than ever before.
We decided to stop our addiction to foreign oil. And today, we produce more renewable energy than ever, more natural gas than anybody, and for the first time in nearly 20 years, America now produces more oil than we buy from other countries.
We decided to fix a broken health care system. And even though the task has been rough, so far, about 500,000 Americans gain health coverage starting January 1st. And by the way, health care costs are growing at the slowest rate in 50 years.
And one more thing: since I took office, we’ve cut our deficits (赤字) by more than half. And that makes it easier to invest in the things that create jobs –-- education, research, and so on.
Imagine how much farther along we could be if both parties were working together. Think about what we could do if the few didn’t hold the economy hostage (人質(zhì)) every few months, or waste time on dozens of votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act rather than try to help us fix it.
In the weeks ahead, I’ll keep talking about my plan to build a better bargain for the middle class. Good jobs. A good education. A chance to buy a home, save, and retire. And yes, the financial security of affordable health care. And I’ll look for any willing partners who want to help.
Because of your hard work and tough sacrifices over the past five years, we’re pointed in the right direction. But we’ve got more work to do to keep moving that way. And as long as I’m President, I’ll keep doing everything I can to create jobs, grow the economy, and make sure that everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead. Thanks, and have a great weekend.
小題1:Which of the following is not the reason for people’s frustration with the government?

A．The government shutdown

B．Unemployment rate

C．The addiction to foreign oil

D．Cancelling the Affordable Care Act

小題2:Why does the president mention more goods and services “Made in America”?

A．To show that American goods and services are very popular.

B．To indicate that American people should be dependent on themselves.

C．To show that the employment rate has been increased.

D．To show that American auto industry enjoys high technology.

小題3:What’s the meaning of the underlined word “repeal”?

A．put an end to

B．try hard to fix

C．make stronger

D．get accustomed to

小題4:According to the speech, which of the following can be implied?

A．American people have every reason to feel frustrated with the government.

B．Health care costs are growing at the slowest rate in 50 years.

C．The president feels sorry that the economy is not moving in the right direction.

D．Some government officials don’t agree with the president on the medical care system.

Traditional Japanese food is surely one of the healthiest and most delicious in the world, and fortunately for most of us, foods like tofu, sushi and even green tea are now familiar and can be found easily out of Japan. As a national cuisine(烹飪), thanks to many social as well as political changes, Japanese food has greatly developed over the past few centuries. In ancient times, when much of the traditional cuisine was influenced by Korean and Chinese cultures, Japanese cuisine slowly changed with the start of the medieval(中世紀的)period, which brought along with it new tastes.
With the coming of the modern age, a great many changes took place and the Japanese cuisine was influenced greatly by Western culture. However, the traditional Japanese food of today is still very like what existed toward the end of the 19th century. This would mean that a large part of the Japanese cuisine includes those foods whose cooking methods and ingredients(原料)have been introduced from other cultures, but which have since then been experimented with and developed by the Japanese themselves.
The thing about Japanese food is that you either will love it or will completely look down upon it. With traditional Japanese food, there is no such thing as an in-between. However, chances are that if you hate Japanese food, then you probably haven’t even tasted real Japanese food or you simply haven’t given yourself the chance to like it. Unlike other cuisines, Japanese food is not something that you will appreciate after having only a bite. Like wines and cigars, Japanese food needs time to be liked.
小題1: After reading the whole passage, we learn that this passage mainly         .

A．a(chǎn)dvises us to eat healthy food is so healthy

B．explains why Japanese food is so healthy

C．introduces some famous traditional Japanese food

D．tells us something about traditional Japanese food

小題2:What does the writer mean by saying “fortunately for most of us”?

A．That most people know how to prepare tofu and sushi themselves.

B．That most traditional Japanese food can be enjoyed everywhere.

C．That we can enjoy some traditional Japanese food out of Japan.

D．That Japanese food like tofu, sushi and even green tea is not strange to us.

小題3:What can we learn from the passage?

A．Japanese food changed most during the medieval period.

B．Japanese food has been greatly influenced by other cultures.

C．The traditional Japanese food of today tastes totally different from that in the past.

D．Korean food is also one of the healthiest foods in the world.

小題4:The last paragraph suggests that      .

A．healthy food usually doesn’t taste good

B．not everyone likes Japanese food

C．some people are crazy about Japanese food

D．it’s very easy to tell whether the food is real Japanese food or not

小題5: In the writer’s opinion, Japanese food        .

A．is not as good as people think

B．sometimes tastes really terrible

C．is worth tasting a second time

D．tastes as good as Chinese food

February has long been a month of romance（浪漫）. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest（牧師） in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage. But Valentine continued to perform（主持） marriage ceremonies（典禮） for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison（監(jiān)獄）, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed （簽名）“From your Valentine”, an expression that is still  in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped（心形的） cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.
小題1:Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?

A．Because there were few women in his country at that time.

B．Because he wanted to control the birth rate.

C．Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people.

D．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers.

小題2:Valentine was put into prison because ______.

A．he killed one of the soldiers

B．he didn’t obey the emperor’s order

C．he stole a lot of food

D．he didn’t want to be a soldier

小題3:The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.

A．students in China send cards to their teachers

B．Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now

C．it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China

D．it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China

小題4:The best title for this passage should be ______.

A．Valentine’s Day in China	B．A Brave Priest
C．Valentine’s Day	D．A Romantic Man

A Korean wave is sweeping across China, with many Chinese women worshipping South Korean actors Kim Soo Hyun and Lee Min Ho as demigods (半神半人). Chinese netizens have always been divided over South Korean TV dramas, but there is no doubt that programs from the neighboring country are now enjoying a new round of popularity in China. And a big part of the credit for that goes to You Who Came From The Star, the South Korean TV series which is on the air now.
Top South Korean actors Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo Hyun recently earned a popularity rating of 24.8 percent in their country, considered strong by Nielsen Korea. You Who Came From The Star and The Heirs have been subjects of hot online discussions throughout Asia. Besides, the book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, read by the hero in You Who Came From The Star was a hard-to-get item on Amazon for a while.
The two TV programs have several common elements: a tall, handsome, and rich hero who loves the heroine blindly and always protects her, and an equally handsome man madly in love with the same woman. Both programs portray the purity of love, which is expressed through a kiss or a warm hug. Perhaps that’s the secret of their success; perhaps people are still fascinated by Cinderella-type stories.
The growing wealth gap is a matter of social concern both in South Korea and China, and the challenges that young people face in their search for a better life might have prompted (激起) many ordinary girls to dream of marrying rich, caring men. This is precisely what the popular South Korean TV dramas portray. In fact, South Korean TV dramas are tailored to meet the market’s demands.
In contrast, Chinese TV screens are flooded by knock-off (山寨) or poorly made soap operas. There are too many Chinese TV dramas that are either of the stereotyped (刻板的) war theme or just blindly copy foreign programs. The lack of good stories has resulted in loads of TV series on time travel or fights in the harems (后宮) of Qing Dynastyemperors. These, in short, are the pain of Chinese TV productions.
The shooting for South Korean productions generally starts when the scripts (腳本) are just one-third ready. Many popular productions have their own websites, where scriptwriters post part of the finished scripts, inviting viewers to leave messages, discuss the plot and come up with suggestions for future events. This not only keeps viewers’ interest in the TV dramas alive, but also helps scriptwriters and directors make changes to the storylines to suit the audience’s demand.
Hopefully, the innovation-induced (創(chuàng)新引導的) success of South Korean TV programs will prompt Chinese TV drama makers to think up new ideas and abandon their bad practice of copying foreign productions in order to attract more viewers at home, and possibly abroad.
小題1:The main point the author emphasizes in this passage is ________.

A．why Korean actors are more popular than Chinese actors

B．how the three Korean actors became famous around East Asia

C．what modern TV dramas need is not copying foreign programs but innovation

D．the Cinderella-type stories are an ever-lasting theme people are fascinated with

小題2:Which of the following best explains people’s favor for The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane?

A．The celebrity effect is powerful.

B．Drama stars are the best advertisements.

C．Rich and handsome heroes in dramas usually love reading.

D．A successful drama generally originates from a good novel.

小題3:According to the passage, the secret to Korean TV dramas’ being successful is that ________.

A．drama stars must be tall, rich and handsome or beautiful

B．scriptwriters should choose the appropriate themes for all viewers

C．drama producers have creative ideas to adapt to viewers’ interest and demand

D．people’s concerns such as wealth gap both in Korea and China are taken good care of

小題4:What does the last paragraph imply?

A．Abandoning copying foreign productions is the only way to attract viewers.

B．The Chinese TV drama makers should follow in the footsteps of the Koreans.

C．It’s hard to predict what the future TV dramas in China and Korea will be like.

D．A bright future of Chinese TV dramas can be expected prompted by the Koreans.

Finland (芬蘭) is perhaps the most beautiful and mysterious country of Northern Europe. Two-thirds of its surface is covered with thick forests. Relative to its size, Finland has more lakes than any other country. The northern part of this country is inside the Arctic Circle, where almost no trees can grow because of its cold weather and the people use their deer of transport, clothing and food.
The Finnish history began in the Middle Ages. In about 1155, Finland was conquered (侵略) by its western neighbor Sweden (瑞典). After a period of rule by Denmark (丹麥) in the 14^th century, the Swedes won back independence and power in 1523 under their brave king. During the Napoleonic (拿破侖的) Wars (1804-1818) Finland was passed finally from Sweden to Russia. The opportunity came in 1917, when the Russian Revolution brought foreign rule of Finland to an end. Shortly after Soviet Russia made peace with Germany, 1919 saw the founding of the Finnish Republic.
The years between the First and Second World Wars were years of progress and growing development. Finland is the fifth largest country in Europe, and despite a relatively small population of 5.2 million, the market potential is much greater. Finland has no coal or oil, and the nation’s wealth lies in the timber from its forests, which supplies material for paper and furniture making, and in the electric power from its water. Finland is an excellent gateway to trading with Russia and the Baltic States because of a long history of trading with these marks. Finland has also enjoyed a strong and long-Finland’s accession to the European Union in January 1995.
小題1:From the passage, we learn that Finland _______.

A．lies inside the Arctic Circle

B．lies east of Sweden

C．is next to the countries of northern Europe

D．is entirely covered with forests and lakes

小題2:Finland must have been under the control of _______ for as long as one hundred years or so.

A．Russia

B．Denmark

C．Sweden

D．foreign countries

小題3:Among natural resources, the Finnish people benefit mainly from _______.

A．coal and oil

B．forests and water

C．paper and furniture

D．timber and power industry

小題4:What does the underlined word “timber” probably mean?

A．Fruits.

B．Wood.

C．Animals.

D．Money.

What is a six-letter word that immediately comes to mind when you need some information on the Internet? You probably thought of Google. But Google wasn’t always the name of the famous search engine. In fact, the original name was BackRub!
BackRub was the name two graduate students gave to the new search engine they developed in 1996. They called it BackRub because the engine used backlinks to measure the popularity of Web sites. Later, they wanted a better name — a name that suggests huge quantities of data. They thought of the word googol. (A googol is a number followed by 100 zeros.) When they checked the Internet registry of names to see if googol was already taken, one of the students misspelled the word by mistake, and that’s how Google was born.
Google is just one example of a name change in the business world. Many other companies have decided to change their names or the names of their products. Here are some more examples:
Jerry Yang and David Filo, two young computer specialists, developed a guide to Internet content in 1994. They called it “Jerry and David’s Guide to World Wide Web.” But they soon realized that this wasn’t a very catchy name, so they searched through a dictionary and found a better one: “Yahoo.”
Sometimes companies change their names because of the popularity of one of their products. In 1962, a young runner named Phil Knight started a company called Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, Knight decided to design and manufacture his own brand of shoes. He named the shoes after the Greek goddess of victory — Nike. Nike shoes became so well known that Knight changed the name of the whole company to Nike.
小題1:According to the text, Google       .

A．has been famous since 1996

B．is a result of a spelling mistake

C．means a number followed by 100 zeros

D．is the original name of the search engine

小題2:Jerry and David changed the guide’s name to Yahoo because the original name        .

A．had been registered	B．had been forgotten
C．was not attractive	D．was too short

小題3:The company Nike got its name from        .

A．its founders	B．its customers
C．its popular products	D．its advanced techniques

小題4:Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．The name changes	B．The history of Google
C．How to choose a name?	D．Why are names important?